


Out There

by SaraJaye



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crying Keith (Voltron), Energy Tracking, Friendship, Hugs, M/M, Partnership, Pining Keith (Voltron), Post-Kerberos Mission, Presumed Dead, Reunions, Sunsets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-14 17:16:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18480742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: Only two people know the Kerberos crew are still alive.





	Out There

Pidge Gunderson enrolled in the Garrison days after Keith was kicked out, but he wasn't surprised the kid had found him. He was sure everyone would still be whispering about him for the next few months: Keith Kogane, the troublemaker, the bad seed, the disciplinary disaster, the washout, the failure. The crazy boy who snapped and punched Iverson, flipped a desk and told a bunch of kids to go fuck themselves for merely _mentioning_ Kerberos. So tragic, except for that one kid who was probably dancing with joy that _he_ was automatically the best in the class now.

 _Hardly,_ Keith thought. If anyone was the best it was probably Kinkade or Leifsdottir, but not the loud cargo pilot who insisted he was God's gift to everything.

He hadn't wanted to trust Gunderson. What was the point of trusting anyone when the people you opened your heart to ended up snatched away? But it wasn't long before he learned the truth: Pidge Gunderson was really Katie Holt, and Shiro's crew were none other than her father and brother.

"I promised Mom I'd find them and bring them home as soon as I could. Or at least find out what happened," she'd said. "Everyone says I'm insane, they fake concern every time I get upset at them for mentioning Kerberos, they act like I'm gonna snap and go psycho just like-"

"Just like me." Keith laughed ruefully. "It's okay, rumors travel fast. I'm sure there's plenty more they're gonna spread before the year's over."

Pidge (he'd gotten too used to calling her that even after learning her real name) smiled a little.

"For what it's worth, I don't think you're a psycho." She glanced at the map they were studying, then at her mini-computer. No beeps had sounded within the last hour. "Someone you loved was on that ship, too. Don't try to hide it, I've seen the pictures and I can read your sticky-notes." Keith blanched, his cheeks burning.

"Guess I wasn't as subtle as I thought, huh."

"You love Shiro." Pidge moved closer, tentatively putting her hand on his. "Like...in _that_ way, right?"

"It doesn't matter. Keith shook his head. "He's older than me, he'd just gone through a bad breakup before he left, and I bet when he gets back he and Adam are gonna get back together."

"I doubt it." Pidge shrugged. "But the important thing is that he and my brother and my father aren't dead, and you and I are gonna be the ones to find them," she said. "And we'll rub it in everyone's face who keeps saying dumb things about the Kerberos mission!" Keith smiled.

"Damn right we will. The Garrison just doesn't want to admit there's a bigger reason at hand. We might not know what it is yet, but it's way beyond their precious _pilot error._ " If he ever heard anyone else say those words unironically again, he'd smack them.

"Everyone's stupid except us," Pidge said. "Well...okay, one of my teammates isn't dumb, just kinda wimpy and naive. But he's the exception!"

"Garrett?" Keith remembered seeing the guy around, usually handing out food or leaving it in people's desks. "Yeah, I've heard he's a brain, probably among the top ten after Leifsdottir and..." He groaned. " _James._ "

"I kinda wish he didn't feel like he had to be Lance McClain's babysitter, or I'd have brought him with me," Pidge said. "But you and I aren't doing too bad on our own so far." Keith nodded.

"We've made more progress than we have in the last three days. At least now we have a location for those weird readings," he said. "Not _exact,_ but we've sorta narrowed it-"

The computer beeped again, and Pidge's eyes widened.

"The energy readings! They're getting stronger! And...look at this!" Keith glanced over her shoulder at the screen to see the faint outline of a lion inside a cave. When he looked out the window, he could swear he saw a faint glow coming from the outcropping.

"It's there," he said. "I know where we need to search now. I still don't know what we're looking _for,_ but..."

"But it's still a clue as to what really happened on the Kerberos mission, I think," Pidge said. "It might not give us the answers we're looking for, but it's a step in the right direction." She grabbed her things and shoved them into her pack, while Keith grabbed some of Dad's old climbing equipment and a flashlight.

"Let's go."

The pictures were indeed of a lion. A blue lion, with a few scattered hints of an arrival, an occurance here or there. It didn't add up, but tomorrow they'd spend the whole day looking deeper. The cave went on for miles, if Keith's map was any indication.

After Pidge scurried back to the Garrison, Keith went to bed, his dreams full of colored lions and the cosmos.

 

The next day, someone crashed in front of the Garrison, and Keith could have wept with relief to discover it was Shiro. But he didn't have time to really process it until later that night, when the others had gone to sleep and he stepped outside for some air.

 _He's back. Shiro's back._ He looked older, a part of his hair had turned white, one of his arms was made of metal now, and he had a scar over the bridge of his nose. It had taken all of his self-control not to flinch or cry at the sight of it, much less imagine what had happened. Chances were, Shiro didn't want to talk about it either.

_He's alive. Whatever happened, he survived it._

Shiro stood on a small hill a few steps away, watching the sunset, and for a moment Keith feared it was all a dream. That he was still alone in the shack, making charts, writing little notes, gazing at Shiro's picture with a heavy heart and wondering if maybe this was all a wild goose chase and Shiro was really gone.

But Shiro's shoulder was firm and warm under his hand, and when Shiro turned to gaze at him with tired, soft eyes, Keith nearly crumbled.

"I'm glad you're back."

"It's good to be back," Shiro murmured. "I still don't know how I got back here, but...I'm glad I did." He turned around fully, his hand moving to cup Keith's cheek, and Keith held his breath.

"S-Shiro..."

"I missed you, Keith." He opened his arms, and Keith fell into them, burying his face in Shiro's shoulder as all the tears he'd been holding back since that night spilled over. Shiro held him tightly, rubbing his back, carding his fingers through his hair, whispering reassurances as Keith gasped his name and various pleas of _never leave again_ over and over.

For the past year, he'd twitched in anger, felt like punching something every time some radio or TV station talked about Shiro like he was dead. He hated having this feeling that they were wrong, but never being able to do anything about it because he lacked actual evidence. Who would take a cave full of drawings of a blue lion seriously? Who would take a _feeling_ seriously? Iverson alone had accused him of just being emotional, like a stupid kid.

And sometimes, he'd worried they were right. When a search came to a dead end, or he and Pidge didn't know _what_ they were even looking for, he'd toss and turn as he struggled to imagine how he'd keep going without his mentor, his guiding light.

But now, all that anger, all that desire to prove them wrong and rub it in their faces had melted away. He didn't care about being right, Shiro was _alive,_ holding him in his arms. Even if one of them _was_ made of metal now, it was still him. For the first time since that news report Keith felt safe, and he snuggled further into the embrace, his tears slowing to a stop little by little.

"Better now?" Shiro asked. Keith nodded, looking up and smiling as Shiro stroked his damp cheek.

"Yeah. Sorry I got you all wet."

"It'll dry." Shiro brushed away a few remaining tears. "How did you know to come save me when I crashed, by the way?" Keith laughed, nuzzling Shiro's hand.

"It's a long story, Pidge and I will show you later," he said. Shiro pulled back a little, raising an eyebrow and smiling.

"Katie?"

"That's part of the story. I dunno how far I'd have gotten without her help." He leaned against Shiro's shoulder, arms wrapped around his chest, soaking in every bit of the warmth from their embrace. "Can we stay like this, though? Just a little longer...I promise, I'll show you, I just..."

Shiro held him closer, cupping the back of his head with his other hand.

"I wasn't ready to let you go, anyway," Shiro murmured. Keith felt the soft press of Shiro's lips to his temple, and his heart soared. _Alive. You're alive, you're with me, this is real. Shiro...!_

They stood there in each other's embrace until the last traces of color and light left the sky, and the first stars peeked out of the darkness.


End file.
